Sakazuki

Sakazuki, formerly known by his admiral alias Akainu, is the current fleet admiral of the Marines, succeeding the previous fleet admiral, Sengoku. During the first half of the series, he was one of the three admirals, as the last one to debut. Upon becoming the fleet admiral, one of Sakazuki's first decisions was to relocate Marine Headquarters into the New World in preparation for the New Pirate Age.

In the manga, Akainu was first mentioned by Nico Robin during the initial encounter with Aokiji. In the anime, he was mentioned earlier by vice admiral Jonathan during the anime-only G-8 Arc, which aired after Akainu had been revealed in the manga.

Sakazuki is perhaps the most strident follower of Absolute Justice in the entire series, to the point where his extremism prompted his fellow admiral Aokiji to oppose his promotion to fleet admiral and resign from the Marines after this effort failed. Because of his actions, Sakazuki is one of the main antagonists of the Marineford Arc and, after his promotion, he became one of the central antagonists of the series.

Appearance

Sakazuki is an incredibly tall, light-skinned, unusually muscular man (the most muscular of the former admirals and being on par with Sengoku and Garp). He's about as tall as his fellow admirals, with a square-shaped face, very pronounced facial features, and short black hair. He stands at 306 cm (10'), making him taller than other massive characters like Jinbe, who is 301 cm. He usually wears a standard Marine cap and sports a crimson, double-breasted suit, decorated with what appears to be a pink rose on his left buttonhole. Unlike many high-ranking Marines, he does not wear a tie, but instead leaves his light red colored flower-patterned shirt unbuttoned, showing his muscular neck and part of his tattoo. He wears black gloves and black shoes.

Personality

While he is a strong and capable leader who has done well to consolidate the power and prestige of the Marines, Sakazuki would be best categorized as an extremist and highly dogmatic. He is an adamant believer in Absolute Justice and is ruthless in his maintenance of it, his derived motto being "Thorough Justice" (徹底的な正義 Tetteiteki na Seigi?). He has a stern, dead-serious disposition, is grim, expressionless, and was the most ruthless out of three admirals pre-timeskip. This has given him a very fearsome reputation, but of greater concern is his dogmatism, which may end up making the Marines into a force that is worse than the enemies they hope to eliminate. Despite this disposition, Sakazuki seems to be able to restrain himself at times, having chosen to spare the life of Jewelry Bonney and her crew after they were left beaten and tied by the Blackbeard Pirates for the then-admiral to salvage, and letting his colleague Aokiji leave the Marines after he lost a ten-day duel for the position of fleet admiral.

Abilities and Powers Overview

As fleet admiral, Sakazuki has total operational command of the Marines, with at present only six direct superiors to answer to: the World Government's Five Elders and Commander-in-Chief. On top of any prior-held authorities as admiral (e.g., issuing special orders like the enactment of a Buster Call on any island he deems a threat, at any time, and granting others such privilege), Sakazuki can now fully lay down the organization's strategy, decide tactics and set policy, discretionally assign and reassign forces to deploy globally in missions (including the admirals), promote or demote the lower ranks, and delegate any such powers as he sees fit; during the two-year timeskip, he exercised his authority to have the Marine Headquarters relocated to the New World as well as institute a global-scale draft.

Leadership and Intelligence

Attesting to Sakazuki's perceived leadership competencies and military acumen, he had many dignitaries of the government strongly push for him to succeed Sengoku as fleet admiral, over the latter's personal nomination of Kuzan. While known, feared, and disdained by some for his hardline, over-the-top methods, Sakazuki's prowess as a leader is undeniable. Indeed, as noted by Jinbe, the Marine HQ under him has supposedly grown far stronger and more determined than ever before, despite the resignations of Kuzan, Sengoku, and Garp, thus bearing out Sakazuki's capabilities.

Physical Abilities

As with all admirals, Sakazuki's physical prowess is immense. His raw physical strength was enough for him to go up against and clash evenly with Whitebeard in close quarters—the "Strongest Man in the World" who, in his old age, could still overpower a giant's strength easily. Using a single leg, Sakazuki held back a two-handed swing of the elder's large naginata, which came clad in a quake bubble to massively enhance its striking force.

Devil Fruit

Sakazuki ate the Magu Magu no Mi, a Logia-type Devil Fruit that allows him to create, control, and transform his body into magma. His magma is extremely hot and highly explosive, thus making it well-suited for combat, allowing Sakazuki to burn, melt, and destroy anything in his path—in fact, among all Devil Fruits, Sakazuki's is said to offer the greatest attack power.

Haki

As the fleet admiral of the marines, Sakazuki is a highly skilled Haki user.

Busoshoku Haki

During the Summit War, Sakazuki was seen using advanced-grade Busoshoku Haki to block and disperse a long-distance quake shockwave sent out by Whitebeard, by generating, with his fellow admirals, an emitted shield combination of their three Haki.

Kenbunshoku Haki

Sakazuki possesses the ability to use Kenbunshoku Haki.

Weapons

Sakazuki was seen wielding a dagger as a child and a red-hilted katana during his youth as a Marine.